"While El Camino Los Gatos, opened less than a year ago, is performing below budgeted projections, the budget gap is not attributable to it, officials said."

It may not be attributable to it, but the fact that it's below projections is contributing to the problem. So taxpayers in the El Camino Hospital District are financing a hospital outside the district both for the startup costs (which reduce the district's reserves) and for the ongoing expenses.

Revenue shortfall? Give me a break! What's really driving the $11 million losses are out-of-control expenses like million dollar CEO compensation; $300-$400,000 compensation for executives; programs like Vascular Institute and Cyberknife that offer big salaries for doctors and negative return on investment to the hospital (that's if ECH ever tracked profitability by program - which they don't); Los Gatos Hospital - invest $100 million in a money losing venture - and then wonder why there's less interest earned on the $100 million taken from reserves; overcapacity in the new hospital and interest expense on the $250+ million in bonds that paid for construction; $1 million in new signs around the hospital. Need I say more - just listen to how proud the hospital Board and executives are with their mantra of "Whatever it takes." What a surprise that the spend, spend, spend mentality is coming home to roost. This is just the tip of the iceberg - and unfortunately the administration doesn't have a clue how to reduce costs while brining efficiency and improvements to healthcare delivery.

Mountain View
The hospital might want to contribute the shortfall to their extensive advertising. Full page ads in many publications can rack more than that amount in a very short time. Why is healthcare a for profit business these days?

This is more of the same old spin from the El Camino Hospital Administration and Board. Just last year, they gave healthy raises to all administrators because of the increased work of opening the new hospital for the citizens of Los Gatos. I didn't see anything in this release saying El Camino Hospital would now be rescinding the raises. It is not comforting to know that the residents of this health care district are responsible for any shortfalls providing care to residents of other cities. Once again, this demonstrates the poor leadership of the El Camino Hospital District Board and administration. The public will be stuck with higher prices and less service, while the administration, Board and former Board members laugh all the way to the bank.